China Car Times visits the MG dealer

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After dragging the deposit out of my old landlord on Sunday morning I found myself with nothing to do with the rest of the morning, then I remembered that some guy on the internet with a flatulence problem was muttering something about the MG dealership opening day here in Qingdao, that was the morning wrapped up then. I jumped into the car on the unusually hot September morning, wound the windows down and set off to ‘car city’ where all the top end marques are stationed in a picturesque side of town.

Warning: video ID not specified!

I hooned into the unfinished car park (with the Sex Pistols My Way blaring out) and executed a sharp right hand turn into an empty car parking spot. The car park was unfinished and was just packed earth with a light covering of dirt on top, I managed to spray dirt all over the pristine white BMW 3 series next to my motor. Whoops

First things first, the MG garage looked quite nice from the outside, the MG octagonal logo was proudly over the door, the usual helium filled yet tethered to the floor balloons that you often see around China (especially at ceremonies or opening events) were flying high and emblazoned with the MG logo.

I got the impression that no expense had been spared for this opening party, looking around the car park at the other attendees I noted that many of them appeared to be upper class Chinese, easy to spot when wearing designer brand labels such as Louis Vuitton handbags and a mouthful of black teeth. It seems MG has targeted the right crowd, most of them seemed to be well off judging by dress (it was Sunday morning, lots of tennis and golf clothes out on display) it also seemed to be a bring your wife or your mistress event, I however, took the moral high road and took my wife. (only because I cant afford a mistress)

 

The event finally kicked off with the host being a famous DJ from Qingdao radio, (it was nice to put a face to the name!) that guy probably didn’t come cheap. Then it was off to the Nanjing MG representative, a short lady with a high pitch voice she sung the praises of the communist party and Nanjing MG, giving a brief run down of their history and Rovers history. It seemed like the speeches went on forever, with everyone standing in the car park listening to a government leader talking about cars, investment, cars, investment, I finally gave in and went to get a bottle of water from my car.

MG really tried to show how British they were, they had the Queens Guards march past (some wearing sneakers, not one of them British either) they then went onto ‘guard’ certain key locations around the MG garage, like the doors, and stand to attention by the MG7’s – great photo opportunities for families though.

MG also had the local Polo team ride past on their horses, the blanket under the horses saddle was also emblazoned with the MG logo.

It all looked very, very British. I was expecting a Queen impersonator next. Various MG paraphernalia was on sale, including MG teddy bears, Cigar cutters, model cars of Austins, Rovers and various other British Leyland cars of days gone by were on sale. Another thing that may be of interest for MG-Rover enthusiasts, there was a Chinese language book on sale about the story of Longbridge detailing nearly every model that rolled out (and didn’t roll out!) of the factory gates.

The MG dealership is large, and very nice definitely on par with the Jaguar dealership. They had various MG 1.8 Turbo models on display but not the larger 2.5 V6 flagship edition, they also had a single MGTF which seemed to draw the largest crowds. This is the first time China Car Times got up close and personal with the MG7, and to be honest, it seems like it is priced at the right level given the quality of its dashboard – it seems a little flimsy and design wise it feels outdated. It was the outdated, unfashionable element in Rover cars that forced Rover to close its doors, however, in China the MG7 is clearly aimed at the more mature Chinese buyer who will clearly appreciate the refined elements of the MG7.

The seats, were top notch and from the side the car even looks pretty good, we might even say better than the Roewe 750, the MG7 looks more like a Jaguar, it sits closer to the ground and has a more forbidding look than its SAIC made brother.

The front end is another story, as a British person, I know that front end is off an old MGZT but to the Chinese it’s a fresh face. Would I buy an MG7, probably not, Id get the top of the line Ford Focus 2.0 saloon and save at least 30,000rmb but then, it’s a case of horses for courses.

As mentioned, the MGTF was present and easily drawing the largest crowds – it’s the only two seater sports car on the market (unless you count Ferrari et all) that’s available at a reasonable price. The MGTF has been given a new front end, although not being an MGTF fan at all, I cant really tell the difference. Again, the dashboard feels a little too plasticky for my liking, but my wife fell in love with the MGTF and fully expects one for her birthday. She can think again.

Overall, I did leave the MG dealer feeling a little disappointed, I was somehow expecting a lot from the MG7 but it failed to deliver for me personally, there were many a middle aged Chinese men that were very excited by it, but it wasn’t for me too – much dark plastic, too much fake wood which makes it all feel like a tight cramped car, compare that to the Roewe 750’s interior which is much lighter (cream leather, lighter plastics on dash, sparing use of wood etc) Still, at 170,00rmb for the basic model, MG will have a hard time making enough of these cars to meet demand! MG surely did some swift business this weekend, and will do for the rest of the year! The place was very, very busy and the sales team were clearly rushed off their feet with the number of people who were asking information. I hope in the next few weeks, once the fuss has died down a lot I can go back and get a test drive of the MG7, especially the flagship version.